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Violet Evergarden is a truly beautiful show, both visually and holistically. To me, the main themes of this show are about love, loss, and learning how to cope with grief.

I can really appreciate the messages that are portrayed in this show, having lost my own father recently - I saw my own situations mirrored in the episodes. This might have allowed me to feel deeper for the characters and truly empathise with their own feelings of loss and grief.

I rated the story a 9/10. To me, the plot is a breath of fresh air amongst a sea of shows with premises that seem to ... have stagnated and recur over and over. The show is based in a world, ravaged by war, that is trying its best to heal. The inhabitants have all suffered immensely due to this war. Friends, family, loved ones, strangers and all have lost their lives and it is up to those left behind to pick up the pieces and get their lives back together. One tangible way of doing this, is by writing letters. Not exactly what I would have had in mind, but they really made it work in this context.

I rated the art, understandably, a 10/10. If you've heard the phrase 'every scene a painting', the art department on this show deserves all of the accolades and applause. The environments are breathtaking and everything from the fashion design to the facial emotions are extremely well drawn and animated. I would expect this kind of quality only from anime films.

In terms of sound, I rated it a 7/10. The OP was nice, but I didn't find it overly 'catchy'. On the other hand, the ED was fantastic - it really captured the essense of the show and provided a sombre, almost haunting backdrop to every outro. The female singing over silence felt dense and emotion-fuelled. The choice to only add piano to the backing was perfect as well. The OST was, in my opinion, forgettable. It's your cookie-cutter music that has been orchestrated to help push along the emotions that are being conveyed on screen. It's nice, it fits the scenes, but it's not a memorable OST.

I rated the character an 9/10. Violet Evergarden's character development through the series is great to watch. We become attached to this robotic character as she struggles to learn 'what "I love you" means'. Her character has such a nice contrast, from physically looking doll-like and having actual metal prosthetic arms, while still being human and trying to properly understand human emotions. While some may see her lack of emotion and inability to understand social conventions as 'annoying', to me it is endearing and makes me want to root for her and see her develop. All of the 'clients' that Violet meets have their own backstories related to those themes I mentioned earlier, and even though they may only have a short amount of screen time, it is through Violet that they are able to understand themselves and not only progress their own stories, but Violet's as well. I only nicked a point off this as I found some of the characters, namely the office workers, really weren't delved into as much, despite them being recurring characters (as opposed to the majority of the clients).

My enjoyment of the show was also a 9/10. I could soak in this animation and art style for days at a time. The voice acting was incredible and I couldn't stop watching as I just had to know what Violet would be up to next. This show basically plays out like a slice of life (which tends to be one of my favourite genres of anime).

In the end, the scores tally to an average of 9/10 overall. Highly recommend. Maybe don't watch this too soon after losing a loved one. Or maybe do, it might help bring you some closure, as it did for me.

(Spoiler-Free Review)

The fact that this shoft anime film exists is somewhat of a small miricle.

It all begins with Ridley Scott's 1982, cult classic sci-fi film, Blade Runner. A film derived loosely from Philip K. Dick's novel titled "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". It explores philosophical issues related to the over-arching theme of the impacts that technology has on society, i.e. designing robots (Replicants) that are visually the same as humans, and progressing them to a point where they themselves believe that they are human.

And now, thirty-five years later, writor, editor and director Denis Villeneuve continues the saga not only with a sequel ... to the original Blade Runner, but also three short films dedicated to the story that occurs between the original and the upcoming sequel (Blade Runner 2049).

In the opening sequence of the Blade Runner: Black Out 2022, before the anime begins, Villeneuve says:

"I decided to ask a couple of artists, that I respect, to create three short stories that dramatise some key events that occured after 2019, when the first 'Blade Runner' takes place... I am honored that Watanabe, whose work I deeply admire, agreed to create this short anime for you."

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Now that you've got some background of this whole situation, let's begin with the review.

The anime itself is very short with a runtime of around fifteen minutes including the credits. I never thought I'd be giving such a short piece, such a high rating. It is extremely difficult to convey a story in such a short time, but I believe that this team has pulled it off superbly!

I believe that the two factors that contribute to the success of this anime are the art and sound. Fans of the original Blade Runner will be pleased to know that the dark and brooding atmosphere that the film is known for, is well 'Replicated' (sorry, not sorry) in the anime. The environments are meticulously detailed; the sense of paranoia and suffocation from the elements in the background is ever present. The sheer lack of natural beauty and the looming presense of an entirely corporate society creates tension and emphasizes the environments themselves. The animation is shared between various styles which switch up at a moments notice. It is this genius ability to depict a certain mood with the style of art, that other anime really tend to lack. While other anime may find themselves stuck to one format or style of art/animation, Black Out is able to fluidly and flexibly change to match the mood the director is trying to evoke in the audience. Good examples of this technique can be found in shows such as FLCL and Mob Psycho 100. The animation is incredibly fluid in parts, almost mesmerizing (as expected of Watanabe's direction).

I also want to appreciate that the title cards in between sequences use the same typeface and colors as those used in the original Blade Runner. It's a nice touch.

Following this, the sound is utterly fantastic. Once again, fans of the original Blade Runner are going to be pleased. It is as if they have simply reprised the OST from the original for this anime, but obviously, it is much more than that. The background music reflects the dreamy and grimy-ethereal aethestic of the dystopian future in which the anime is set. There is a contrast between the hard-hitting and deep orchestral pieces (the opening piece in particular, which mirrors the opening to the original almost to a tee - not to mention the visuals), the fast-paced jazzy tunes one might associate with Cowboy Bebop and the futuristic electronic beats full of washed out sounds and synthesizers. Also, it would be a crime not to mention the powerful song that begins to play as the credits roll. "Almost Human", very aptly named. It's a fantastic way to close out the anime, and adds an extra layer of depth to the finale (once you've seen it).

In regards to story and character, I believe that they rely heavily on these points that I've made about the art and sound. The show, technically, is character-driven, and the characters that have been presented are a trio, Iggy, Ren and the most important, Trixie. For the sake of a spoiler-free review, I can't really go into them, as this is such a short film that pretty much any information beyond their names could potentially spoil the show. To simplify, I think that the characters were well portrayed for the short amount of screentime they were allowed. Each character's background was given a small, yet efficient, look. Such efficiency was key in allowing the viewer to make a connection to the characters in such a short time - it also gives them purpose and feeling more than just plot devices. There is some very blatant Biblical symbolism towards the end, it works well with the scene and adds some extra depth to the action at the time - this form of symbolism is also found in the original film. There are several other one-shot background characters. Upon re-watching a few times, it is nice to see that the dialogue they are given actually does help establish setting in this world set three years after the original Blade Runner.

Lastly, was my enjoyment. I was really hyped up for this anime and I think that my hype was well-founded. I enjoyed watching this anime and I enjoyed it the next three times over as well. It appears to be a perfect gateway for people who have not yet been introduced to anime, as it is set in the universe of one of the most recognizeable cult films in movie history.

'Blade Runner: Black Out 2022' is a fantastic anime! Well worth a watch or two! My final verdict is an overall 9/10. My only gripe is that due to the length of the film, the true issues that come bundled with the Blade Runner universe weren't fully fleshed out (they were definitely addressed and explored, but certainly left something to be desired. I guess we'll get our fill when Blade Runner 2049 comes out). In some ways, it might be said that the length of this short was symbolic in the fact that life is fickle and fleeting - that in only 15 minutes, so much can change - and we are but transient members of society simply coming and going. In reality, if that's the only negative thing I have to say about the show, then I am very pleased. Although, I can imagine that a viewer who hasn't seen the original could be a little confused and likely a little dissatisfied with the result.

Thank you for reading my review! This is the first review I have ever written, and I decided that I'd try to go all out for the sake of the first review on an anime that might affect the future of the anime industry itself.

Have a great day now~!

-N.